Keys to the game @FSU

As you know by now, we are a 21 point underdog on Saturday Night at Doak Campbell Stadium in Tallahassee. Game time is 8 p.m. on ABC with College Gameday in Tallahassee. 

Most of the experts predict an FSU blowout on Saturday Night. I think we have a pretty good chance to win up there. Here are my keys to a CANES victory at Doak. 

1. No Turnovers - Absolutely under no circumstances can we turn the ball over because that's asking for big trouble in a hostile environment like we're going to face. FSU is 11th in the country in Turnover Margin at +8 (1.1 per game). Ball security is going to be critical in this game. Stephen Morris cannot have a 4 INT game up there like he did in Chapel Hill and expect to win. That cannot happen. Most of their turnovers they force is via the Pick. 
2. Morris has to be at a minimum 65% completion rate - Morris' completion rate this year is 60% (.599). He needs to manage the game properly and on occasion, take shots downfield when they are there. He's going to be facing the best pass defense in the country in FSU, which allows just 153.7 ypg passing on the season. FSU opp pass completion rate is 52%. Their opponents pass efficiency rate is 95.92, which is 5th in the country. He must make very good decisions on Saturday Night. 
3. Run the football effectively - If there's a weakness in the FSU defense, its vs the Run, which is 29th in the country allowing 135.7 ypg on the season. The magic number, IMO, is 175 yards rushing combined from Duke, Dallas, Clements, et al. I feel if we're close to that or exceed it, I think we have a very good chance to leave Doak a winner. No fumbles at all. I go back to ball security because at times this year, it has been an issue and up there, we cannot have fumbles lost here by the backs in this game. We have to do what BC did on the ground and they were very effective at it too. 
4. TDs, not FGs - FSU's RZ Defense isn't as good as in years past (this year, they are tied for 33rd with Wisconsin in that department with opponents converting 76.5% of the time. We have to finish drives with TDs, not FGs. We cannot leave any important points on the field in a game like this.
5. Pressure Winston - Our defense is 11th in the nation in Sacks, averaging 3.14 per game. Its going to be imperative to get to Winston early and we must rattle him early and often because if we give him time to throw, he's going to pick us apart. You can force Winston into mistakes. Make him have to beat our defense throwing. That's a risk because FSU is 11th in the country in Passing offense, averaging 341.4 ypg. They're 3rd in the nation in yards per completion averaging 16.83 ypc. Our Defense is 10th in the country in Pass Efficiency with a 104.77 rate. 
6. Stop FSU on 3rd Downs - FSU hasn't been in many 3rd down situations this year, in fact, they have the fewest attempts in the country (69), but when they are in these situations, they convert 52% of the time. The last two weeks vs Carolina and Wake, our defense has allowed opponents to convert 13 out of 31 attempts (42%). Its vital, the D makes stops on 3rd downs and gets off the field. We have to make FSU have to convert the long yardage situations on 3rd down. 
7. Field position - This is a battle we have GOT to win. FSU starts their drives on average from their own 31. Their opponents have started their drives from an average of their own 26. We cannot expect our offense to have to go 80+ yards per drive. We have to have short fields to work with. Make FSU have to go 80+ yards per drive and not allow the big play. FSU's PR Defense is next to last in the country with opponents allowing 26 ypr on Punts, while our PR Defense is 101st allowing 11.5 ypr. On KRs, they are 28th allowing 740 yards in Kick Return Yards. We lead the nation in KR yardage averaging almost 30 yards a return (29.62). FSU is 17th averaging 25.13 per return. Our KR Defense is tied with UCLA for 22nd allowing 466 yards in Kick Returns. FSU is 29th in PR yards averaging 11.8 per return, while we're tied with W. Michigan for 62nd averaging 8.1 ypr. We have to play a clean game here and no penalties because in a game like this, field position is going to be crucial. 

Those are my keys to a CANES win up in Tallahassee.